Draft-equalizer.



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WILLIAIVL SCI-ILUTER, OF PARKERSBURG, IOWA.

DRAFT-EQUALIZEB.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM SOHLUTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Parkersburg, in the county of Butler and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Draft-Equalizer, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to draft devices and more particularly to means for connecting the evener bar or beam of the draft device to the runnning gear of a wagon, as distinguished from those devices which are connected directly with the tongue of the wagon.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify the construction and operation of devices of this character so as to be reliable and efficient in use, composed of few parts, and adapted to be readily applied to ordinary wagons. These objects I attain by the construction shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a wagon with my equalizer system and evener applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the evener bar on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 4 4L of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment shown in the illustrations, 2 denotes the rear axle and 3 the rear bolster.

1 denotes the front axle, 5 the front bolster and 6 the king bolt connecting the two.

8 denotes the usual reach which, at its forward end, extends through between the axle a and bolster 5, and at its rear end is adjustably attached as usual to the rear bolster and axle.

9 denotes the front hounds of the usual construction, 10 the fifth wheel and 11 the tongue or pole pivoted to the front hounds for movement in a vertical plane.

Mounted upon the forward end of the reach 8 just forward of the bolster 5 is a vertical support or standard 12, having at its upper end a transversely extending sleeve 13, and at its lower end a plate-like base, 14:, one wing of which extends beneath the bolster 5 and between the bolster and the reach. The king bolt 6 passes through this end of the base plate and a bolt 15 fastens the plate to the reach. The plate 12 at its forward end projects laterally somewhat beyond the reach and is formed with an eye 16 for the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. April 13, 1909.

Patented June 21, 1910.

Serial No. 489,629.

attachment of the draft cable as will be hereafter described. In the sleeve 13 is carried a tubular spreader 17, which extends outward in one direction from the reach nearly to the wheel on that side. Through this tube passes a cable clamping bolt, 18, having at one end a nut, 19, and at its other end the eye 20. By means of the nut, the bolt may be drawn into the tube 17 to a degree which will bind the draft cable 33 against the opening of the tube, and thus hold the draft cable from any movement through the eye. The spreader tube 17 is formed with a stop 21 to prevent its movement inward into the sleeve 13 under strain.

The main evener bar 22 is shown in de-' tail in Fig. 2. It is formed with two spaced upper and lower plates or members 23, held apart at one end by the solid spacing block 24, bolted in place, and at the other end it is held apart by the doubletree 25, pivotally supported on a bolt 26. The solid end of the evener bar has an eye bolt 27 to which is swingingly connected the swingletree 28. To the ends of the doubletree 25 are attached the swingletrees 29 and 30. To the evener bar 22 at a distance midway between the end of the doubletree 25 and the opposite end of the evener bar is pivotally attached the bracket or clevis 31, which, at its end, carries the pulley 32.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the evener bar is located above the pole 11, and is free to swing back and forth without in any manner exerting any sidewise pressure upon the pole. It is to be especially noted that the evener bar is not connected to the pole in any manner to produce a draft thereon, as the object is to place all the draft on the running gear. Hence, a draft rope or cable 33 is attached at its forward end to the eye 16, then passes through the pulley 32, then through the eye 20 on the end of the spreader bar, and then extends rearward to the rear axle to which it is attached in any suitable manner, as by a pin passing through the reach and rear axle, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The portion of the cable between the outer end of the spreader bar and the rear axle serves merely as a brace for the spreader bar and takes the pull and strains that would otherwise be brought to bear on the same. By using a single cable in the manner set forth, the construction is simplified. A rod, however, may be used between the outer end of the spreader bar and rear axle to serve as an equivalent means for the rear portion of the cable. The tongue supports the weight of the evener bar and the attached parts, and the evener bar is re- 5 tained in position by a bracket or guide 23 secured to the underside of the evener bar and which is connected by the pivot 23 to the tongue. By this means, the evener bar can freely move forwardly or backwardly as the portion of the cable in front the draft onthe various horses.

The front portion of the cable forms two legs on an approximately equilateral triangle which has its vertex extending forwardly from the bar 17 that forms the 20 base of the triangle, and the clevis 31 connects with the cable at the said vertex. Since the draft device is connected with the running gear by a flexible connection, the evener bar is free to move. The cable 83 2 being clamped at the end of the spreader bar, the draft on both the legs of the rope will be equal no matter what the position of the horses or the line of draft. Since the cable 33 is clamped at the end of the spreader bar, the strain that will come upon the bar is opposed by the length of the cable 33 extending from the end of the spreader bar to the rear axle. One advantage of the present device lies in the fact that the three horse evener shown may be easily detached for the substitution of the usual two-horse draft appliance without disassembling the wagon or dismembering the reach from the front wheels or removing the king bolt.

My invention is simple in construction and application and is thoroughly effective in use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

l. The combination of the running gear of a wagon including front and rear axles and a reach, of a draft device disposed in front of the running gear, a bar extending laterally from the reach, a flexible element connected with the outer end of the bar and havingits end also anchored at the inner end of the latter, the said flexible element extending forwardly from the bar in triangular relation thereto, means for connecting the draft device with the flexible element, and a bracing means between the outer extremity of the bar and rear portion of the running gear to oppose therforward draft on the said bar.

2. The combination with the front and rear wheels of a wagon and a reach connecting the same, of a flexible connection attached at one end to the front axle and at the rear end to the hind axle, a fixed spreader bar supported adjacent to the point of attachment of the connection to the front axle and extending out laterally, the end of said spreader bar engaging with the connection, and a draft appliance located ahead of the forward wheels and operatively attached to the said connection.

3. The combination with the front and rear wheels of a wagon, of a flexible connection attached at one end to the front axle and at the rear end to the rear axle, a spreader bar supported at one end adjacent to the point of attachment of the flexible connection and projecting out laterally, the end of said spreader bar having a clamping engagement with the flexible connection, and a draft appliance located ahead of the forward axle and spreader bar, having a pulley through which said connection passes.

4. The combination with the front and rear wheels of a wagon, of a flexible connection attached at one end to the front axle and at the rear end to the hind axle, a tubular spreader bar supported at one end adjacent to the point of attachment of the connection and at the other end having a clamping engagement with said connection, an evener attachment having a pulley through which said connection freely passes, and a series of swingletrees connected to said evener.

5. The combination with the front and rear wheels of a wagon, a reach connecting the two and a king bolt passing through the reach and the front axle, of an attaching plate through which said king bolt passes, said plate projecting beyond the axle and having an eye, a flexible connection attached to said eye at one end, the other end of said flexible connection being attached to the rear axle, a spreader bar extending laterally from the reach at a point in front of the front axle and secured to the connection at an intermediate point of the latter, and a draft appliance having a pulley through which said connection passes, the draft appliance being located forward of the front axle.

6. The combination with the front and rear axles of a wagon, a reach connecting the same, and a king bolt. connecting the reach to said front axle,'of a plate supported on the reach and having one portion thereof engaged by the king bolt, a spreader bar supported on said plate and projecting laterally therefrom, a flexible connection attached at one end to the plate and at the other end to the-rear axle, said connection being intermediately held outward by the spreader bar, and a draft appliance having a pulley through which said connection passes.

7. The combination with the front and rear axles of a wagon, a reach connecting the two, and a king bolt connecting said reach to the front axle, of a plate supported on the reach having one portion thereof engaged with the king bolt, said plate having a standard and a laterally extending sleeve, a spreader bar mounted in said sleeve and having at the end a clamping attachment, said bar extending laterally from the reach, a flexible connection attached to said plate, passing over and clamped by the spreader bar and extending rearward and attached to the rear axle, and a draft appliance having a pulley through which that portion of the flexible connection intermediate of the spreader bar end and the point of its for- Ward attachment passes.

8. The combination with the front and rear axles of a wagon and a reach connecting the two, of a spreader bar mounted forward of the front axle and laterally projecting, said spreader bar having at its end a clamp, an evener provided with a pulley, and a flexible connection attached to the front axle passing to the evener, then over the spreader bar to which it is clamped and then extending rearward to the rear axle.

9. The combination with the front and rear axles of a wagon, a reach connecting the same and a king bolt connecting the reach with the front axle, of an attaching plate supported on said reach extending inward over the front axle through which said king bolt passes, said plate having an eye, a standard upwardly projecting from the plate, and a sleeve on the upper end of the standard, of a tubular spreader bar mounted in said sleeve extending laterally therefrom, an eye bolt passing through said spreader bar and adapted to be drawn into the same, a flexible connection attached at one end to said plate, and at its other end attached to the rear axle, said connection passing through the eye of the bolt on said spreader bar, and a draft appliance having a pulley through which said flexible connection passes, said draft appliance being located forward of the point of engagement of the connection with said plate and spreader bar. In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afflxed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM SCHLUTER.

Witnesses:

W. T. EVANS, M. L. EISENSGI-IMIDT. 

